01.26.10

CMs Brave Gohkin Pilotless 1/48 Dark Legioss

Posted in 1/48, Alpha/Legioss, CMs at 3:18 am by micronian

Review: The plot device that allowed Stick/Scott to kill his own troops

Packaging & Extras: (3/5)
This toy comes in essentially the same packaging that the original Dark Legioss came in but with updated art (as you would expect). Humorously enough, the toy also comes packaged in the same plastic shell that the Dark Legioss came in but it doesn’t include the same accessories (namely the tiny Ride-Armor figures) so the first impression out of the box will be “Wait, is my toy missing parts?” Don’t worry, it’s not, CMs was just lazy. You do get the under intake missiles (like Imai’s old model kit), the Syncho (Destabilizer) gun, a fixed-pose hand necessary for holding the toy’s gun, instructions specific to this toy, and stickers. The other empty area housed the optional third missile cluster included with the original Dark Legioss toy which is absent here like the ride armor figures.

Charm & Collectability: (4/5)
CMs only made 800 of this variant of the Legioss. The toy was released in early 2009 and is beginning to sell out at more and more locations (and many locations didn’t bother carrying it in the first place). Since CMs was the only company that managed to complete their Mospeada line I expect big things from the collectability of this toy. No, it’s not a hero mech, but it was pivotal in the last battle. The toy does have some metal to it, does feature perfect transformation, and has all the hallmarks of a hot item for some Mospeada fan down the road (should there be many Mospeada/Robotech New Gen fans left). The only thing holding this item back is the lack of love for the basic CMs Legioss design which is the basis of this toy and some other new design issues it brings to the table.

Sculpt, Detail, & Paint: (7/10)
It is so hard to judge the CMs Legioss products in this category. On one hand I love how faithful to the line art CMs tried to be. They didn’t cheap things out and ignore several aspects that make this vehicle unique so they could use as much of the standard Legioss toy as possible. On the other hand, their standard Legioss toy took huge and unwarranted derivations from the line art in what I can only assume was an effort to be unique (likely to differentiate it from the existing Toynami Alpha toy which was released years prior). There are some nice details but for the most part the detail work is mediocre (good panel lines but not nearly enough tampo painted details). In the end, I’m going to error on the high side for this toy because it’s refreshing to see just how different it is from the Dark Legioss to the trained Mospeada fan eye.

 

Design: (5.5/10)
You should take a gander back at my original Legioss review to get a feel for what you get with this toy as some of the looks have changed but not much of the functionality. On a more general note, the largest weakness of this toy continues to be it’s poor fighter mode. The legs are too far apart and look ridiculous, especially from below where you can see that the wings barely extend past the toy’s knees. The fighter mode also continues to lack tabs and pegs that would lock the toy together in the proper position leaving the toy feeling like a sloppy mess. If there were no new issues I would be tempted to score this version of the toy slightly higher in this category than the original as it’s not as bewildiering that it lacks connecting points to the Tread (since there is no Tread available to attach to it).  An all new problem for the pilotless Legioss is that the chest cavity is way too large to ever allow the toy to sit on its landing gears. If you didn’t like the fact the Toynami MPC Landing gears BARELY held the toy off the ground, you’re really going to hate seeing your toy resting on its chest with its front landing gear far removed from the tarmac. That large chest is integral for the newly designed head which is the first CMs Legioss head to actually rotate left and right (mostly for the sake of allowing transformation… as, humorously enough, I believe this was the one head that didn’t turn in the actual show). The pilotless Legioss didn’t have shoulder missiled so you won’t find them here. The pilotless Legioss did have two missile banks hidden within its chest but you will not find those here. It’s sad to see so much of the upper body of this toy is new but CMs didn’t manage to eliminate the flip door on the back which has no reason to be there on the shadow variants. A nice addition was a panel that can be pulled up from the back of the crotch to create a segue from the abrupt end of the chest at the arms in fighter mode. In the end, this toy does pretty well in Armo-Soldier and Diver modes but fighter left a lot to be desired.  One last note, the Synchro cannon is supposed to have a scope that pops up in soldier mode and retracts in fighter mode, the CMs gun does not do this.

Durability & Build: (9/10)
Okay, so CMs took huge liberties with the proportions of the Legioss, and yeah they left out the big missile banks in the chest and left fighter mode a sloppy mess, but the one thing people universally praise about these toys is how well they are built and how well they handle play. While this toy has almost no metal it feels 1 MILLION times more stable than the largely metal Toynami/Aoshima toys.

Articulation: (7.5/10)
Finally we have a CMs Legioss that can turn its head!  Hey, it’s a big deal.  Articulation overall is solid, as it was on the original toys, without being exceptional.  While most the necessary joints are present the range of motion can prove stifled and obtaining the pose you want can prove very difficult.

Total Score: (35/50)
This toy has a tiny bit more articulation than previous efforts, and it gets some extra love for having many unique parts to try and match the line art, but in the end it’s pretty underwhelming.  I really enjoy having such a niche toy being such a fan of Mospeada’s designs but I certainly wouldn’t advise casual fans to run out and purchase this.  If you’ve been in love with this oddball since the 80s then pick it up because it’s probably the only toy version of this design you will ever see.  Also, if you’re on the fence, remember that there are only 800 of these.

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